Thai arrested for Facebook criticism of monarchy

Thai authorities have prosecuted a sympathiser of the anti-government Red Shirt movement for alleged anti-monarchy comments he made on the Facebook social network site. And Red Shirts have apologised for storming a hospital, which has now been evacuated.

Photo: Reuters

Wipas Raksakulthai was arrested at his home in eastern Rayong province on Thursday for a Facebook post made on 19 March, which the Department of Special Investigations says “breached national security by insulting the monarchy”.

The department says that he admits he is a Red Shirt supporter.

Disrespect for the royal family, known as lèse majesté, can carry a 15-year jail sentence in Thailand. Anyone can file a lèse majesté complaint and the police are obliged to investigate all such cases.

More than 6,200 web pages have been taken down since 2007 for insulting the monarchy.

The Thai government recently accused several members of the Red Shirt movement of trying to overthrow the monarchy.

A hospital in Bangkok was evacuated on Friday after about 100 Red Shirt guards stormed it on Thursday night.

Officials at the 1,400-bed Chulalongkorn hospital say that most of its patients have been sent to ten other facilities in the capital.

Anti-government leaders apologised for the raid, which, they say, was carried out because guards told them that the saw soldiers inside.

They have alleged that the hospital was the base for a grenade attack on a pro-government rally, which killed one person, last week. The government blames the Red Shirts.

Thailand’s Medical Council slammed the storming and asked protesters to respect medical personnel.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has vowed to prosecute those responsible.